"Aliyah” has become an approved word both here and abroad. Sadly, aliyah is evolving from the reality that Jews in the Diaspora are facing a level of antisemitism that can only be compared to the 1930s. The latest horrific mass shooting of Jews – in Australia’s Bondi Beach as families gathered to celebrate Hanukkah – emphasizes the level of Jew-hatred throughout the world.
The i24 TV news channel in English – which reaches the United States and other English-speaking countries – features a daily advert calling on our Diaspora brothers and sisters “to come home.” Lasting a few seconds, it lacks any meaningful inducement toward encouraging those watching to find out more about the reality of living in this country.
Aliyah promotion events, recently held in New York and London, gained notoriety – not because of the subject matter being discussed within the two synagogues where the events were held but primarily because of the pro-Palestinian demonstrators who stood outside calling for “Death to the IDF” and “Globalize the Intifada.”
In London, the protests were led by two groups – one called Palestine Pulse, and the other Jewish Anti-Zionist Action (JAZA); yes, we Jews have enemies within. The question to be addressed is whether a short TV advertisement or the participation in an event promoting aliyah can persuade one to make the life-changing decision to leave the familiarity of home and family and venture into a different world.
Aliyah is a process that may well commence in one’s childhood if one is fortunate to have parents who educate their children to recognize that being Jewish is to love Israel. For those who comprehend the meaning of our prayers and know our history, identification with the one Jewish state is virtually part of our DNA.
Today, for many in the younger generation whose Jewish education leaves much to be desired, it becomes too easy to identify with our enemies.
There can be no doubt that having the opportunity to physically touch Israel can make a significant difference as to how one views this country.
My own experience backs up this statement. Back in 1957 – when Israel had existed a mere nine years since its rebirth in 1948 – I worked as a secretary in the offices of British WIZO (Women’s International Zionist Organization).
The treasurer, Dora Goldstein, called me into her office and said she was proposing that WIZO send me to Israel to participate in a Jewish Agency seminar, followed by visits to the various WIZO projects throughout the country. However, there was a condition to this offer: that on my return, I would speak about my experience to the WIZO groups throughout the UK.
The first part of the proposal sounded great; but as a shy young woman, the concept of public speaking was terrifying. However, having grown up in a strongly Jewish home, this was an offer I couldn’t refuse. That first visit to Israel remains one of the most amazing experiences of my life, for here was a country where it was more than okay to be Jewish.
As I think back to that time, I can’t help but wonder if those Israelis, who today are choosing to leave Israel, are the ones who, born and bred here, have little concept of what it is to live as a minority in a country.
For sure, when today’s Diaspora Jewish students are facing antisemitism – the product of years of anti-Israel hatred – the time is overdue to reinvent the long-gone World Union of Jewish Students’ year plan for graduates from English-speaking countries. This is a meaningful way of being introduced to life in Israel at a time when a young person is about to consider his future career.
One graduate is my son, who came to Israel on the WUJS program some 40 years ago and has remained here ever since, together with his wife, whom he met while on the project, and the lovely family they created.
My readers will know that I do not speak often of personal experiences, but I truly believe that physically touching Israel is what the promotion of aliyah is about. We have to make it possible for young people to come here and taste the country – reinventing the WUJS program is an ideal way.
On a positive note, it is good to see the recent increase in the number of Israel’s universities offering courses in English in an effort to attract undergraduates from abroad to study here.
With today’s level of antisemitism facing Diaspora Jewish students, this should be an attractive proposition.
What about young families in the Diaspora who are beginning to recognize that the country where they currently live might not be the place for their children in the not too distant future? Here the challenge is far greater. Many have never visited Israel.
Some might want to test the water by coming here for a holiday. However, Israel as a holiday resort remains financially out of reach for the majority. Hotels price themselves way beyond the pockets of these families. A recent example is that a family of four who want to have a week’s holiday in a hotel in Tel Aviv could spend a week’s holiday in Berlin at a cost that includes the full price of the hotel plus airfare.
The prime cause of Israel’s expensive hotel accommodation is the country’s cost of living, which remains among the highest in the Middle East and within the OECD, according to a recent OECD report covering the period of 2020-2025.
Our food prices are 52% above the OECD average and the second-highest after South Korea. For a family of four, Israel’s NIS 2,500 to NIS 3,500 monthly outlays are 40%-50% above the OECD norm, not to mention housing costs, where prices exceed incomes more than in any other OECD country.
We have to reconsider how Israel is projected abroad
If we are serious about promoting aliyah, we have to reconsider how Israel is projected.
First, we must ensure affordable opportunities for young people to participate in meaningful “discovering Israel” projects. In the second place (but many would say it should take priority), the government must rethink the manner in which the country’s budget is distributed.
Some NIS 1.8 billion is expected to go to the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community – yes, the sector where some 80,000 of its young men of army age refuse to participate in the defense of this country. The Bank of Israel’s report, released last week, revealed that increasing haredi enlistment in the IDF could save the economy billions of shekels.
At present, IDF reservists are paid around NIS 38,000 for a month’s army service. Enlisting some 7,500 haredim annually – adding 20,000 to the military overall – could cut the economic burden of reservists by NIS 9.14 billion a year.
Unfortunately, the government’s current proposal for enlisting haredim falls far short of anything near what is desperately required by the IDF, and this at a time when it is low on soldiers.
Recently, we learned that Israel is preparing for a mass aliyah in the event that the current rise in antisemitism intensifies and becomes intolerable for Jews abroad. Let us pray this will not happen, but how preferable it would be if our Diaspora brethren came here out of choice rather than because they were forced to flee their homes.
Of one thing we are certain, whether living here or there: We are the privileged generation to be living at a time when a Jewish state exists, ready to welcome all who choose to come home.
Am Yisrael chai.
The writer is president of the Israel, Britain and Commonwealth Association and has chaired public affairs organizations in Israel and the UK.